One of the options for their little silly online poll is "I agree with him, but don't think it's his place to weigh in"

This strikes me as an odd position for anyone to have. He's an American citizen. He has just as much right to voice his opinions regarding American culture as anyone else, celebrity or not. I understand wanting to hear primarily from experts on a subject - I'd much rather hear from law enforcement officers on this, for instance (a la a recent episode of The Daily Show when Stewart interviewed a police chief on the subject) - but I don't begrudge any other citizen from having his or her opinion and voicing it. I do find certain views to be based in ignorance (some of it willful, some of it innocently genuine), and I don't like to hear those, but that is different from feeling that a fellow American shouldn't weigh on an issue; it just means I weight their views differently than people who have credibility or expertise in the relevant area.

Mangoose:I agree. If Newton made you want to run out and buy a gun, you're a soul-less cock-demon. There are plenty of good reasons to buy a gun, that is not one of them.

They probably ran out to buy AR15s not because they were thinking, hey, I wanna be on national TV, too! But because they rightly predicted the potential backlash: people wanting to (and may or may not be successful) ban "assault weapons."

I think those that ran out to buy assault rifles aren't necessarily soulless shiatbags, but people who help keep The Reynolds Wrap company in business.

I have people on my FB feed who are so worried "nObama" is gonna personally bust down their doors and take their guns WHILE raping their dog and drinking all their beer. It's ridiculous. I ask them, "OK, what do YOU suggest we do to keep guns out of the hands of the irresponsible and/or criminally insane?"

xanadian:They probably ran out to buy AR15s not because they were thinking, hey, I wanna be on national TV, too! But because they rightly predicted the potential backlash: people wanting to (and may or may not be successful) ban "assault weapons."

I'm willing to stand by my statement. If your reaction to Newton was "Oh shiat, better get a gun!", you = soul-less cock-demon*. I could say the same is true about anyone who reacts to it as "Oh shiat, better ban all guns", but that's not the issue at hand.

Mangoose:xanadian: They probably ran out to buy AR15s not because they were thinking, hey, I wanna be on national TV, too! But because they rightly predicted the potential backlash: people wanting to (and may or may not be successful) ban "assault weapons."

I'm willing to stand by my statement. If your reaction to Newton was "Oh shiat, better get a gun!", you = soul-less cock-demon*.

Actually, it's rational economic behavior, if you expect some sort of a ban. Here is why:

First, if you assume that any sort of a ban will have a "grandfather clause", exempting weapons that were owned at the time the ban was enacted, that will only make those guns with those certain cosmetic features more valuable after the ban: The cost of "pre-ban" assault weapons rose steadily after the start of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, and dropped after the ban sunset.

Mangoose:xanadian: They probably ran out to buy AR15s not because they were thinking, hey, I wanna be on national TV, too! But because they rightly predicted the potential backlash: people wanting to (and may or may not be successful) ban "assault weapons."

I'm willing to stand by my statement. If your reaction to Newton was "Oh shiat, better get a gun!", you = soul-less cock-demon*. I could say the same is true about anyone who reacts to it as "Oh shiat, better ban all guns", but that's not the issue at hand.

(*the "you" in the you=cock-demon was not a you specifically)

Except that I *am* a cock-demon, but that's not important right now...

No, I understand where you're coming from. *MY* thing is that I think it's more people inclined to believe in a conspiracy theory that Obama wants everyone's guns (based off of the crap I hear from people I know--you see, I'm in Redneck Country up here). Or there'll be a ban soon, so better get them now while I can! It's like those god-awful Cabbage Patch Kids. What kind of a fury was there when people learned that we were running out of those things to sell?

It boils down to this for me: greed, or paranoia? Could be both. Your suggestion of being "soul-less" seems to fit with the "greed" theory I'm thinking of. Or, maybe it's because I can't conceptualize why anyone would suddenly WANT a gun just because they heard about it in the news? The 6 O'Clock News wasn't meant to be an advert. :/ In that case, yeah, there's some other bizarre mental thing going on there.

I like guns. I think they're cool. But, I also respect them. And, I realize there are some people out there that shouldn't have one. I'm OK with registration. I'm OK with requiring training and certification before even OWNING one (through a handgun or hunters' safety course). I'm OK with thorough background checks. And I'm definitely OK with a better mental health care system. It's not the gun that's the problem. It's the people. Banning guns (or certain ones) fixes only a symptom of a sick society. Better mental health care is more likely to go after the CAUSE.

...

Of course, I think I deviated from the original argument. I blame that on the lack of coffee.

dittybopper:Actually, it's rational economic behavior, if you expect some sort of a ban.

Right! That. But I'm sure there are more elements to it. Humanity and human behavior is more than just black and white.

Not accurate. I had my gun safe w/ several AR-15s and the assorted accoutrements to go with them in my house at Holloman. Now, the Mil-issued weapons aren't kept at home, of course, but at Holloman, at least, I was absolutely allowed to have my Civ versions of them in housing. Junior enlisted troops in the dorms couldn't, but the O's in houses could.

It's possible to disagree with someone, even an actor, without maligning everyone else with the same job/political affiliations/hobbies/genitals. For instance, I disagree with Jim Carrey's desire to see a ban on assault-style weapons, though I agree with the specific sentiment (that anyone spurred to buy an AR-15 by the Newtown massacre is a bit off); yet I don't really think his comments matter. The needle is unmoved by The Mask star's contribution to the discourse.

The reactions to Newtown should be somewhere in the range of sadness to revulsion to horror to fear. Those emotions can spur thoughtful discussion about the state of guns and firearms law in the country, or it can inspire you to collect 'em all; they can encourage people to be sure they're focused on the right things in their lives, or they can encourage people to be ever more mistrustful of their neighbors.

What if I don't give a Rat's Ass about Newtown, and just wanted to buy the best available varmint rifle with the cheapest accessories because I raise sheep and don't' like coyotes and need something with night vision? What if the whole Newtown thing is an issue of NOT LETTING YOUR MENTALLY DISTURBED CROTCHDROPPINGS ACCESS YOUR STUPIDLY OVERPOWERED WEAPONS, YOU FREAKING PREPPER PSYCHO, SHUT UP YOU FARKING JERSEY TURD.Really. What if?I'm not pumping out farking ankle biters with issues and keeping guns out where they can get to them.I'm breeding nice wool and mutton.I don't need rabid or hungry predators in my stock.I don't care about your suburban problems.You fix your farked up people and leave us people who aren't harming anyone alone.Nothing should change for us.Your crisis is YOUR crisis.You made it or made it up. I don't care.I don't want my sheep gettin' et up.That doesn't make me an asshole.Trying to keep me from letting my sheep get et up makes you and asshole.